film

The Society Pages on October 21, 2014

A scene from “The Road from Crime”

In our volume Crime and the Punished, we featured our interview with sociologist-filmmakers Shadd Maruna and Fergus McNeill. This activity builds from their film:

How and why people stop committing crime is an important question. “Discovering Desistance,” by Sarah Lageson and Sarah Shannon describes how two social scientists “co-created” “The Road from Crime,” a film about desistance from the perspective of former prisoners and the practitioners who work with them. Watch the 50-minute film as you consider these discussion questions:

In what ways might the criminal justice system promote reoffending?

According to the filmmakers, desistance is both an “internal” and an “external” process. Where do you see internal and external processes in the film.

What punishment policies might be changed, added, or abandoned to better promote desistance?

Most people who work in the criminal justice system have never been convicted of serious crimes. How might the system be different if it incorporated more input from people who had been punished under it?

After watching the film, imagine that you are a social worker in a community to which many ex-prisoners return. What resources do you think you’d need to address community needs and help former inmates desist from crime? What community leaders or organizations would you need to enlist for support? Discuss your thoughts in a group and draw up a list of the “stakeholders” whose voices are critical for designing your policy.

As hookup culture on college campuses seems relevant (or at least an interesting topic of discussion) to students in my classes, I spend a class during the weeks on gender and sexuality addressing the sociological debates about hooking up and casual sex. There is no shortage of readings that could be assigned on this topic, including many popular media articles. One of the readings that I always assign, “Is hooking up bad for young women?” from Contexts a few years ago by Elizabeth Armstrong, Laura Hamilton, and Paula England, does a great job of outlining the debates about hookup culture that continue to be relevant. (This article was also the focus of another Teaching TSP post several years ago). I also have them read Hanna Rosin’s article from The Atlantic and Lisa Wade’s response from Soc Images.

One of the points of discussion, the sexual double standard, is repeatedly brought up with frustration by female students in my classes. Why are women who have casual sex considered sluts while men are practically given a medal for hooking up? As I initially struggled to navigate these discussions, I turned to an unlikely place for guidance, the classic musical Grease. Who hasn’t belted out “Summer Lovin’” on the dance floor with friends?

As Sandra Dee (Olivia Newton John ) and Danny Zuko (John Travolta) trade off singing about their summer romance, they seem to be describing two different relationships. Sandra Dee tells her friends, “He was sweet, just turned eighteen,” as Danny dishes, “She was good, you know what I mean?” This song, it turns out, is a perfect illustration of different gender norms when it comes to sexuality.

For the class activity, I have students divide a sheet of paper into two columns with one side for Sandra Dee and the other for Danny Zuko. As they watch the Summer Lovin’ footage from Grease, I ask them to take notes in each column of quotes or themes from the song that reflect gender norms and the sexual double standard. Afterwards, we make a list on the board of the stark differences in gender norms around sexuality.

I use this activity as a jumping off point from which to discuss the roots of the sexual double standard and some of the issues with hookup culture. Some questions that we consider in class discussion include:

1) How could hooking up be considered bad for men or women or both? What could you argue are the benefits to hooking up?

2) How do gender norms operate within hookup culture (Lisa Wade’s article does a particularly good job of outlining this issue)?

3) Does hookup culture have the potential to disrupt the sexual double standard or to change gender norms?

The following is a collection of films, both fiction and non-fiction, that have been recommended for use in a Sport and Society course.
We encourage you to recommend additional films, readings to be used alongside the films, or tell us about your experience.

*Special thanks to the NASSS community for providing so many suggestions.

Sport Films (Non-fiction):

Go Tigers! (2001)

Jump! (2007) – Awesome jump rope documentary

Rocks with Wings (2002) (dir: Rick Derby)

100% Woman: the Michelle Dumaresq Story (2004)

Golden Gloves (or the Real Million Dollar Babies) (2007)

A League of Their Own (the documentary film) (1993)

Training Rules (2009) – It concerns the scandal around former Penn State Women’s Basketball Coach, Rene Portland. Maybe available on Hulu.

When We Were Kings (1996)

Playing Unfair (2002)

Chasing October

Football Under Cover

Pink Ribbons, Inc. (2011) – Samantha King

A Hero for Daisy (1999) – a documentary about Title IX and rowing

PBS series “American Experience” has an episode on Jesse Owens – you can screen it online.
Ahead of the Majority – It covers Patsy Mink’s political career and includes a section on her involvement in the politics of Title IX.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster (2008) – examples of hegemonic masculinity and how the media influences males’ self-images (not just females, as is so commonly discussed).

Viva Baseball

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004)

In Whose Honor

Not Just A Game (2010) – Dave Zirin provides a sociological analysis of how sport influences our society, particularly the parallels between the institution of sport and the military.

Pursuing the Perfect 10 – This was a CNN documentary that is available on YouTube in several parts. I used it as a review after lessons on youth sports and deviance in sports
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvMpy6kEOZM

Murderball (2005) – documentary film about tetraplegic athletes who play wheelchair rugby. It centers on the rivalry between the Canadian and U.S. teams leading up to the 2004 Paralympic Games.

Junior –documentary that follows a Canadian Hockey League team from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League called Baie-Comeau Drakkerhttp://www.nfb.ca/film/Junior_en

Head Games (2012) – related to concussion and sport.

More Than a Game – Documents the early career of the heralded LeBron James’ high school experiences.

FIT: Episodes in the History of he Body (1991). This focuses on the history of the how we understand a ‘fit’ body, including analysis related to race, social class, gender, disability and age.

The Journey of the African American Athlete” (Parts 1 and 2)

Blood on the Flat Track – documentary on the rat city roller girls

Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team

Joe Louis – America’s Hero Betrayed

Two Days In April – follows four NFL prospects through the process of preparing for and participating in the 2006 NFL Draft

4th and Goal – Tale of six men trying to make it to the NFL

Undefeated – Oscar-winning 2011 documentary directed by Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin. The film documents the struggles of a high school football team, the Manassas Tigers of Memphis, as they attempt a winning season after years of losses.

Born and Bred – documentary following young latino boxers in LA

The Morgan Lacrosse Story (pbs) – This film tells the story of the nation’s first and only college lacrosse team at a historically black institution.

The Code (2010) – about hockey’s unwritten law of fighting and the men who live by it.

The Other Final – Made by two Dutch filmmakers who were dismayed that the Dutch national team did not make the 2002 World Cup, they arranged to have the then two bottom-ranked (by FIFA), Bhutan and Montserrat, to play a match.

A State of Mind (2004) – on the mass games in N. Korea.

Sumo East and West

The Game of Their Lives (2002) – by Daniel Gordon on the N. Korean 1966 World Cup Team.

Kokoyakyu: High School Baseball – On high school teams competing in Japan’s famous national “Koshien” tournament.

Tokyo Olympiad parts – great for considering how Japan sought to represent itself during the 1964 Games.

River of Life –about the breast cancer survivor voyageur canoe team “Paddlers Abreast” competing in the Yukon River Quest wilderness canoe race – 740 kms/460 miles in three days. Available for purchase (about $20 or so) through the NFB of Canada and free here: http://www.nfb.ca/film/river_of_life/

30 for 30 (ESPN series) – many documentaries that could be useful for teaching.

Sport Films (Fiction):

Friday Night Lights

North Dallas Forty

Girlfight

Eight Men Out

The Fighter

Invictus

Sugar – You can use this to talk about sports migrants, race, and ethnicity